This summer’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting already was going to be one for the history books, and now there’s another reason for that distinction: A record six candidates have now announced their intention to run for the presidency of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.
Based on past history with even fewer candidates, plus the observation that none of the six announced candidates is a strong front-runner, it is all but guaranteed the contest will stretch into a second ballot.
According to the SBC’s bylaws, the president must be elected by a simple majority of registered “messengers” voting in person at the meeting. If no candidate gets 50% plus one, a runoff is held between the top two vote-getters.
Dan Spencer
The latest person to enter the race is Dan Spencer, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Sevierville, Tenn. He brings an interesting historical connection to the race: He is the great-great nephew of M.E. Dodd, considered “the father of the Cooperative Program,” the SBC’s unified budget plan for missions and ministries. He’s also the great-great grandson of George Martin Savage, who was president of Union University in Tennessee and Dodd’s father-in-law.
Spencer’s father, Jerry Spencer, has been a Southern Baptist evangelist and pastor since 1957.
Spencer preached at the SBC Pastors’ Conference in 2001 and was a member of the SBC Committee on Committees in 2005. He served as president of the Georgia Baptist Convention from 2009 to 2011 and served as a director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board from 2015 to 2019.
His intended nominator also pitches a unique connection for Spencer by saying he is the candidate who would best complement the work of Jeff Iorg, newly elected president of the SBC Executive Committee. “He would be the right fit for Dr. Iorg in this inaugural annual meeting for our new EC president,” said Chris Kendall, senior pastor of Oak City Baptist Church in Seymour, Tenn.
Kendall did not say why Spencer would be the best fit for that purpose, but he did predict that his candidate would help the SBC rise above “controversy and contention” and would be “the unifier that would benefit our collective to refocus on what matters most.”
Another data point commending Spencer is that his church is a state and national leader in giving through the Cooperative Program and special missions offerings. Last year, First Baptist gave $542,915 through the Cooperative Program, or 9% of its undesignated offering income. The church also gave $659,425 to the SBC International Mission Board in gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.
Other announced nominees are Jared Moore of Cumberland Homesteads Baptist Church in Crossville Tenn.; Bruce Frank, pastor of Biltmore Baptist Church, Asheville, N.C.; Clint Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church, Charlotte, N.C.; Mike Keahbone, pastor of First Baptist Church, Lawton, Okla.; and David Allen, professor and dean at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Cordova, Tenn.
The 2024 SBC annual meeting is June 11-12 in Indianapolis. The agenda already is significant, with a second vote scheduled on a constitutional amendment that would clearly codify a prohibition on women preaching or serving in church roles with the title “pastor.”
Related articles:
Wait, make that five candidates for SBC president
It’s a four-way race for the SBC presidency this year